GameStick developer units shipping later this month

It’s been over a month since we last heard from PlayJam on their new GameStick portable gaming console. However, the team definitely hasn’t been sleeping, as they announced today that developer units of the new console will be shipping out later this month. The company also had a few other announcements, including controller production, partnerships, and the SDK.

The developer unit itself is slightly larger than what the normal units will be, mostly because the dev units have a Type A USB slot for keyboard and mouse input that will be necessary for developers. The developer units will also include a few different components from the normal units that will be meant for de-bugging and loading apps.

As for the controller, PlayJam says that it’s “nearing readiness for production now.” The company says that “making this controller almost gave the lead mechanical engineer a heart attack,” noting that the controller has a very intricate design, and PlayJam says that the engineer “has worked wonders to fit everything in to such a small space.”

Furthermore, the company has announced that over 500 developers have signed up for, or are in the process of signing up to make GameStick games, and they also said that they have some partnerships in the pipeline with “major corporations,” hinting that ARM may be one of them. As for the SDK, it will be released to game developers later this week. PlayJam will be at GDC 2013 next week to announce even more news, so be sure to stay tuned!